Shipping container for eggs



H. C- REESER SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS May 27, 1952 Filed Mar ch 1,1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR i/P/P) ("X95558 BY g ATTORNEY y 27, 1952H. c. REESER SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1,1949 if M i m 1 m I? 7. m 7 s; "f 0 ii/ 1: 7 wk 5 My. 7 r L 7 2 n 2 g mA M INVENTOR R) Q fla s-3?, 5mm

ATTORNEY y 27, 1952 H. c. REESER SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 1, 1949 ATTO R N EY Patented May 27, 1952UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR EGGS Harry G. Reeser,North Hollywood, Calif., 'a'ssignor to The Patent and LicensingCorporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Massachusetts IApplication March 1, 1949, Serial No. 79,017

2 Claims.

This invention relates to shipping containers and is'particularlyconcerned'with compartmented containers adapted for the shipment of eggsand made of corrugated or solid fiberboard, boxboard, or similar strong,lightweight ioldable sheetmaterial.

Shipping containers for eggs, and similar commodities which requirerelatively frequent inspection and are highly susceptible to injury byexternal impact, should not only effectively protect their contents fromthe hazards of shipment and handling, and be strong enough to sustaincompression loading of superposed containers, but 'at the same time theyshould 'be adapted to be easily opened at frequent intervals and againsecurely closed. Further, it is highly desirable that such containers becapable of being shipped in the form of fiat blanks which maybe readilyand quickly assembled by the prospective user. Egg shipping containersheretofore made of lightweight foldable material and devised in aneffort to meet the above criteria have generally had one or morepractical dis advantages. For example, they employ an inordinate amountof material in their construction, are diificult to manufacture orassemble, are bulky to ship when empty, or do not provide the desiredprotection for their contents.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved compartmentedshipping container for eggs and the like.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a container of thecharacter indicated which provides increased protection for the contentsand has greater general efliciency anddesirabi-lity as comparedwithknown containers.

It is :a still further object of the invention 'to provide acompartmented container which can be manufactured with minimum waste ofmaterial, which can be shipped in the form of flat or folded blanks andwhich can be easily and quickly assembled by the prospective user.

According to the invention, I provide a compartmented shipping containerwhich may be readily assembled from three liat'blanks of lightweight-foldable sheet material designed to provide a double thickness ofmaterial on the bottom, side walls and 'end walls of "the container.This double thickness provides a shock absorbing cushion for thecontents and reinforces and strengthens the container, therebypermitting it to withstand compression from any direction.

Briefly described, my container comprises a case having a bottom, sideand end walls, a liner member having portions coextensive with the 2bottom and end walls of the outer case and :providing cover elements forthe container, and a partition member forming a doubletransversepartition which has extensions which "overlie the side walls.of the case. The combination of these three members provides acontainer which not only protects its contents from injury from externalimpact and is easily opened and closed, but also provides an effectiveload bearing surface which will withstand compression loading of.superposed containers. The cover members have tuck flaps whichfrictionally engage the partition member and hold the cover memberssecurely closed.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description and from the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is:a'perspective View of an embodiment oi the invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan viewv of a blank from which maybe formed the centerpartition and side wall reinforcements for the container.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a blank forming the bottom and end wallreinforcements and the cover members of the container,

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which may be formed the bottom,side walls and end walls of the container, and

Fig. v6 is a perspective view showing the relationship of the set-upblanks.

Referring to the drawings "and particularly to Figs. 3, 4 and I5, there:are shown three substantially rectangular flat blanks which have beencut and scored to permit fabrication of a container embodying featuresof the present invention. These blanks may be formed'fromfiat sheets ofcorrugated fiberboard, solid fiberboard, boxboard or other similarfoldable material which is light weight yet possesses adequateflexibility and strength for the purposes of the invention.

Shown in Fig. 5 is a substantially rectangular blank, designatedgenerally by the numeral 16, adapted to form the body portion,. or case,of my container. Blank ['0 has been transversely scored to definerectangular side wall panels H and 12, adapted to form the sides of mycontainer, an end wall panel I3 flexibly connected to the outer edge ofside panel H along score line I4, and an end wall panel 15 positionedbetween side panels H and I2 and flexibly connected thereto along scorelines It and I1, respectively. The bottom of my container "is formed bybotend edge of panel 36.

3 tom flaps I8 and-l9, 25 and 2|, flexibly connected along longitudinalscore line 22 to the lower edges of wall panels I I, l2, l3 and I5,respectively. A slot 26 extends collinearly from the lower end of scoreline M to the outer edge of blank Ill and separates bottom flaps I8 and20, and slots 21 and 28 extending downwardly from the ends of scorelines I6 and IT, respectively, separate bottom flap 2| from bottom flapsl8 and IS. A relatively narrow attaching flap 29 is flexibly connectedto the outer edge of side wall panel l2 along score line 30. Cut-outs 3|and 32 in end wall panels l3 and I5, respectively, provide hand holes tofacilitate carrying the container. While in the embodiment illustratedcut-outs 3| and 32 are trapezoidal in shape, they may in practice be ofany convenient shape.

The cover elements and the bottom and end wall reinforcements for mycontainer are formed by a single integral liner member. This linermember, shown in Fig. 4 and designated generally by the numeral 35, isformed from an elongated strip of sheet material suitably scored bytransverse parallel score lines to define a central rectangular panel 36and end liner panels 31 flexibly connected along score lines 38 to eachFlexibly joined along score lines 39 to end liner panels 3'! areoutwardly extending cover panels 40 and relatively narrow tuck flaps 4|are flexibly joined to the outer edges of cover panels 40 along scorelines 42. Cut-outs 43 are formed in end liner panels 3'! and are soshaped and positioned that they will coincide with hand cut-outs 3| and32 when the container is assembled.

The partition member of my container is designated generally by thenumeral 46 and, as shown in Fig. 3, is formed from a rectangular flatblank of sheet material cut and scored to define two central partitionpanels 41 flexibly connected to each other along transverse score line48. Slots 49, collinear with, and extending outwardly from, each end ofscore line 48 define side extensions 50 flexibly joined to each side ofpartition panels 41 along score lines The outer side edges of partitionpanels 41 are provided with relatively narrow flaps 52 joined theretoalong score lines 53 and the outer side edges of the side extensions 50are provided with similar flaps 54, joined thereto along score lines 55.Flaps 54 are separated from flaps 52 by slots ,56 extending from theouter edge of the blank to the ends of score lines 5|.

It will be observed that the blanks with which I form my container areall substantially rectangular and are free from small tabs and the likewhich might easily tear off in handling and add to the difficulty ofmanufacture and assembly. Further, my container blanks are made from aminimum amount of material and with minimum waste.

As previously indicated, the container may be shipped to the packer inthe form of flat blanks which may be easily and quickly assembled.

To assemble the case of my container the blank I0 is bent inwardly alongthe transverse score lines I4, l6 and I1 into the form of a rectangulartube and the attaching strip 29, folded along score line 30, is secured,as by staples 58, or other convenient securing means, to end wall panel13. The bottom flaps I8, I9, 20 and 2| are then folded inwardly alongscore line 22 and secured in position, as by an adhesive strip 59. Ifdesired, the stapling operation whereby attaching strip 29 is secured toend wall panel I3 may be carried out by the manufacturer and the partlyassembled case shipped in collapsed condition to the packer who can thenreadily set up the case and attach the adhesive strip 59. In this way,the advantage of shipment as a substantially flat blank is retained andthe packer is saved the necessity of having to have stapling machinery.Referring to Fig. 6, the liner 35 is erected by bending the end linerpanels 31 upwardly at right angles to central panel 36 and the liner isthen inserted in the assembled case with the panel 31 coextensive withthe bottom formed by bottom panels |8, I9, 20 and 2|. The partitionmember is assembled by folding partition panels 41 upwardly along scoreline 48, bending side extensions 50 outwardly along score lines 5| atright angles to partition panels 41, and then bending inwardly the flaps52 and 54. The assembled partition member is then directed into positionin the case with the free ends of panels 41 extending upwardly. It willbe seen that the partition panels form a transverse recess adopted forthe reception of tuck flaps 4|. When the container has been loaded, thecovers 40 are directed into place. To close the container the tuck flaps4| are inserted into the recess between the two partition panels 41 andare there firmly held in place by frictional engagement. The extensionpanels 50 bear against end liner panels 31 and end walls l3 and I5 andtend to force partition panels 4'! together. When the contents are to beinspected or removed the covers 40 may be readily folded back and thenagain securely closed. Separate covers, which are commonly employed withconventional egg cases, are easily misplaced or damaged in the course ofthe frequent opening and closing to which egg cases are commonlysubjected, and in some cases fall off in the course of shipment. Thisdisadvantage is completely eliminated in my container.

It will be observed that there is a double thickness of material alongthe bottom and along all four walls of my container. This not onlyprovides a cushioning effect against external blows and impact but alsoreinforces the container against compression forces from any direction,thus imparting to the container a high degree of dimensional stability.The container will easily sustain compression loading of several tiersof egg cases with complete protection of its contents.

It will be apparent that various changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims and it is intended that all matter contained in theforegoing description and in the drawings shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A compartmented container for the shipment of eggs and the like whichcomprises, in combination, a substantially rectangular case having abottom, side walls and end walls, an elongated liner member disposedinteriorly of said case and having a portion coextensive with the bottomof said case, adjacent integral portions coextensive with the interiorsurface of said end walls, a cover member integral with each of saidadjacent portions and flexibly connected to the upper edges thereof,tuck flaps on the ends of said cover members, and a double walledlateral partition member disposed centrally of said outer case, anddividing said case into two compartments, said partition membercomprising two integral panels having their free ends extending upwardlyin said case, said integral panels forming a recess adapted to receivethe tuck flaps of said cover members, and said integral panels havingextensions overlying the inner surfaces of said side walls and extendingsubstantially to the end walls.

2. A compartmented container for the shipment of eggs and the like whichcomprises, in combination, a substantially rectangular case having abottom, side walls and end walls, an elongated liner member disposedinteriorly of said case and having a portion coextensive with the bottomof said case, adjacent integral portions coextensive with the interiorsurface of said end walls, a cover member integral with each of saidadjacent portions and flexibly connected to the upper edges thereof,tuck flaps on the ends of said cover members, a double walled lateralpartition member disposed centrally of said outer case and dividing saidcase into two compartments, said partition member comprising twointegral panels having their free ends extending HARRY C. REESER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,081,419 Benschoter May 25, 19372,404,065 Hill July 16, 1946 2,404,704 Guyer July 23, 1946 2,427,397Ferguson Sept. 16, 1947 2,450,419 Cassidy 1 Oct. 5, 1948 2,475,107Newsom July 5, 1949

